New Bad Girl in Town
by Wilhelmina Vandom
Summary: A very troubled redhead with a seemingly bad attitude moves into Heatherfield. When she meets the girls there can she overcome her problems and start a new life or will old problems follow her?
1. Chapter 1

New Bad Girl in Town

Irma yawned as she joined her three friends ready, well maybe not ready as mornings were an evil torture created to make life hell, to face another fine day at the mental institution known as Sheffield Institute. Okay, maybe more of a high school than a mental institution but the two were basically the same, right?

"Hey Irma, bout time." Cornelia said with a bright smile proving once again that the girl would look her best even during the end of the world as well as Monday mornings. Sometimes the blonde could really piss Irma off but as energetic as the blonde was their Chinese friend Hay Lin could always outdo her.

"Did you hear?" Hay Lin squealed hyperly, "We have a new student starting today!"

"That's…That's great Hay Lin." Taranee said giving a bit of a yawn herself, proving that at least another girl out of their group had some sense as the four girls walked toward the entrance of the school, before noticing a red haired girl shoving past several other students hanging out at the door rudely and when they said something to her the redhead didn't even bother turning around, as she flipped them the bird over her shoulder.

"I wonder if Elyon is here yet." Cornelia said as she looked around for the other member of their group, but she didn't seem to be anywhere in sight causing Cornelia to sigh momentarily, before slipping back into her model like mask of uncaring and indifference. Irma swore if she hadn't known the blonde since they were kids that Cornelia was a major bitch, but the brunette knew better than that. Cornelia was actually only half a bitch, thought that made Irma smirk a little. She'd have to remember that for later to see if she could piss Corny off with it.

The group filed in through the doors noticing the redhead looking around in confusion as students milled about around her. Taranee seemed about to go ask if she needed help, when the half of Cornelia that was a prep decided to speak up by saying quietly, "Geeze, where does she shop? The Salvation Army?"

Apparently the girl heard them as she looked hurt for a moment before sending a glare at Cornelia. The look actually caused Irma to shiver a little as it caused a bit of fear to creep into Irma.

"Ah, Miss Vandom I presume." Mrs. Knickerbocker asked walking out of her office toward the redhead. "I've been expecting you."

"Whatever." The redhead grumbled, "Just call me Will."

"All right then, Will if you would come this way we can get your locker assignment and schedule." Mrs. Knickerbocker said, "As I told your mother on the phone I have your textbooks ready. They are old ones as they are only loaners."

"As if I'll be using them anyways." Will grumbled, but Irma caught the hurt look flash through those hazel eyes again momentarily.

"Sheesh, rude much?" Cornelia grumbled, sticking her nose up slightly and walked away from the redhead though it was obvious the redhead heard her.

"Gee, I don't know, why don't you tell us Princess?" Irma asked angrily as she hurried off after the blonde.

"I'll se you later." Hay Lin said, as she turned to follow Mrs. Knickerbocker into the office though Taranee stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Hay Lin, you can't be seriously be planning on spying on them." Taranee gasped in surprise, looking at the other girl's eyes which looked guilty for a moment before brightening again.

"O-Of course not! Don't forget I'm helping out in the office this semester before classes." Hay Lin said happily, as she was actually excited about running errands for the teacher's staff. Hay Lin was sort of a teacher's pet as was Taranee to a certain extent. Cornelia and Irma were the opposite though, as they were the ones usually getting into trouble with said teachers, though it was usually over one of their petty arguments which earned them that trouble.

"Of course," Taranee said with a knowing smirk, "Just don't get caught."

"Don"t worry, I won't!" Hay Lin chirped before blushing and heading off to the office. As soon as Hay Lin entered, she noticed the front part of the office was empty as the two desks were vacant at the moment. The door to the inside of Knickerbocker's office was open enough to see Will leaning back in the chair, facing Knickerbocker across the desk, as the older woman was reading the thickest file the Chinese girl had ever seen.

"I believe every student deserves a chance Miss Vandom," Miss Knickerbocker was saying as she rubbed her temples with thumb and forefinger. "You though have already blown your second, third and FOURTH chances! One more and I'm afraid you're out. This is the last school in the state willing to take you with your reputation. I will be watching you Miss Vandom and if I catch you screwing up even one time I swear you will be expelled faster than your head can swing!?

"Well then, let's se if we can hurry this up then, shall we?" Will asked, crossing her arms and leaning back, "SCREW YOU!"

"MISS VANDOM!" Mrs. Knickerbocker actually came close to yelling as she slammed her hands done on the desk, "DON'T TRY GETTING EXPELLED ON YOUR FIRST DAY!"

"Don't even bother trying, Hay Lin." Missus Parker said smiling down at Hay Lin as she passed her. "That girl is a pure trouble maker, she's been convicted of not only drugs but drinking as well, while driving…Without a license. One more arrest and she goes away for a long time."

"M-Maybe she just needs a friend?" Hay Lin said, with a nervous smile as she went to the coffee pot and made sure it had a filter in it, before taking the can of coffee next to it and putting several scoops in it.

"Honey, the only thing she needs is a good stint in juvie hall or prison. She's a lost cause." Missus Parker said sadly, "I never seen someone as screwed up as she is."

"Maybe she's just lonely or something?" Hay Lin suggested, though it sounded empty even to her. Was the redhead really that bad? Heatherfield was a pretty nice place where there was hardly any trouble and definitely a place where drugs were virtually unheard of. It was a small town where most everyone seemed to know each other.

"I'll take care of this honey," Missus Parker said moving to take the glass pot to get some water for the coffee maker, "You better get your books and head to class."

"But the announcements." Hay Lin said hopefully.

"Will be made by either Mrs. Knickerbocker or myself, sorry sweetie but we've had some complaints about students missing the first few minutes of classes from parents, so this semester we aren't having student assistants." Missus Parker said causing Hay Lin's shoulders to slump, she was looking forward to this since she was chosen to be this semester's assistant.

The two jumped as Knickerbocker's door slammed open and the redhead stormed out of the room, carrying an armful of textbooks besides her bag which was stuffed with even more.

"Stupid school." Will snarled as she stomped past the two, ignoring Knickerbockers angry protest as Will walked angrily out of the office pushing past several students, "Stupid dorks!"

"See sweetie, nothing but trouble." Missus Parker sighed sadly as she scribbled something on a small notepad before tearing it off and handing it to Hay Lin, just as the first bell rang. "Here, you better get to class."

Hay Lin sighed as she hurried out of the office to her locker.

WITCH

Irma watched as Hay Lin walked into Mister Collins History class and handed the man a slip of paper, before taking her seat next to the brunette. She had thought it was a little weird when the announcements were made by Missus Parker as the morning announcements were always made by the student assistant, which must have explained the saddened look on her friend's face.

"What happened?" Irma whispered, as Hay Lin took her seat.

"There won't be any student assistants this semester thanks to grouchy rents." Hay Lin grumbled, as she pulled out her assignment and book as well as her notebook.

"That sucks, I was hoping for some good gossip." Irma said with a smirk as the redhead from earlier entered the room, giving Mister Collins a slip of paper similar to the one Hay Lin had as well as a larger one that Irma guessed, was the girl's schedule.

"Looks like we have a new student class." Mister Collins said, "This is Wilhelmina Vandom."

"Will." The redhead grumbled.

"Excuse me?" Mister Collins asked as he blinked in confusion.

"Are you deaf, I said Will. My name is Will." Will said causing Mister Collins to flush a little, though from embarrassment or anger was a toss up.

"Well Will, would you like to say a little about yourself?" Mister Collins asked as he regained his composure.

"Sure, I can't wait to get out of this dump you call a school so I can get away from you bunch of losers." Will said with a smirk, as she walked to the only empty seat in the class room, which was right in front of Irma. Mister Collins mouth open and closed several times like a fish before shaking his head a little angrily.

"I'll cut you some slack Miss Vandom, because you are new but keep up this attitude and you can spend the afternoon in detention." Mister Collins said staring at the redhead as Uriah seemed to be giving her a look of approval.

"As if I care," Will grumbled. Mister Collins looked like he was going to explode for several moments but turned away and went to his desk and sat down. He shuffled through some paperwork before looking up at the class.

"Okay, pass up last night's homework assignment." Mister Collins said as he found what he was apparently looking for as he got back up and went to each desk, trading each stack of homework for an equal amount of stapled packets of paper which sent a shudder through Irma. "I was going to save this pop quiz for a study aid, but I think it would help see where our new addition is at."

The class pretty much gave off a collective groan while many of the students glared at a sheepish looking redhead, who laughed nervously at the attention she was now receiving.

WITCH

Hay Lin jumped a little when Cornelia slammed her tray down in front of the Chinese girl spilling some of the slop the called food onto the table. Hay Lin knew that part of Cornelia's reason for being upset was that Elyon was off today. Apparently she was sick, though that shouldn't have angered the blonde this much but an idea quickly came to Hay Lin.

"Let me guess, a five foot redhead weighing ninety eight pounds?" Irma asked, causing the blonde to turn redder than she always was in anger. Apparently Irma had the same thought and surprisingly it was a right guess.

"I…I can't believe HER!" Cornelia spat, for once losing her composure completely in public as she sat down in a huff and started digging into her food.

"I'll be right back!" Hay Lin chirped, as she noticed a certain redhead getting into the lunch line and decided maybe it would be nice to try and reach out to the girl, as she seemed kind of lonely. It was something Hay Lin noticed all day during the couple classes she had with Will. The redhead may seem angry at everyone and downright rude but Hay Lin was sure that there was more to it. There seemed to be a sadness, a loneliness to the redhead that called out to Hay Lin.

"Where are you going?" Taranee asked, looking up to Hay Lin as the Chinese girl started to make her way away from the small table.

"To make a friend." Hay Lin said with a smile, as she hurried across the cafeteria to the redhead's side. "Hi Will."

"What do you want?" Will asked angrily, glaring at Hay Lin with a frightening intensity. Why was the redhead being so hostile towards Hay Lin anyways? It wasn't like Hay Lin had done anything or said anything bad to this girl.

"Well…I…Was wondering if you would like to come by my place tonight…The Silver Dragon…All my friends get together there a lot after school to study and hang out and even eat. My grandma makes the best almond cookies." Hay Lin said, gaining courage though she was pretty scared at first. The redhead actually smiled a little as hope briefly flashed through those hazel eyes before they hardened again.

"Screw you." Will snapped, hurting Hay Lin's feelings a little. "Do you think I actually believe that you want to be friends with me? Get real loser."

"I-I'm serious Will, after you grab your food come sit with me and I'll introduce you to my other friends." Hay Lin said, pointing to the table she just came from while Irma, Cornelia and Taranee where watching in what Hay Lin was sure was shock.

"Whatever." Will sighed, a bit of the smile returning, "I…I'll think about it."

"Great, I'll be waiting for you." Hay Lin said with a grin, before hurrying back to the table as Will was up next to grab her lunch. Sitting back down at the table and pulling her tray to her Cornelia glared angrily at her.

"What was that about?" Taranee asked, a little shocked at Hay Lin's behavior. They couldn't believe the usually meekest one out of their group had actually braved talking to the new girl. Sure Hay Lin was hyper and over active but she was really pretty shy and tended to shy away from confrontation.

"I offered to be her friend." Hay Lin said, grinning as she took a bite of her lunch while the three girls stared at her in complete shock. The Chinese girl looked up behind Cornelia to see a somewhat nervous redhead walking toward them, much to Hay Lin's excitement. "I asked her to come and hang out with us tonight."

"Y-You invited new girl?" Cornelia asked in plain disgust, as Will stopped just inches behind the blonde with a devastated look on her face, as she plainly heard Cornelia's comment.

"

H-Hey Will, have a seat." Hay Lin said giving the redhead a small smile.

"Why would I eat with a bunch of losers like you?" Will asked, her eyes growing hard as she looked around the cafeteria, before going to an empty table and sitting down to enjoy her meal leaving Hay Lin to glare at Cornelia.

"Great job there, Corny." Irma sighed, a little angry but really couldn't blame Cornelia either. She had a few classes with Will as well and knew the redhead was going to be a difficult one to deal with.

"How was I supposed to know the…The freak was behind us." Cornelia scoffed causing Hay Lin to jump to her feet. Hay Lin glared at Cornelia as she gathered her things and tray before huffing loudly and walked away from the table, much to the other three girls' surprise. Hay Lin walked over and sat her stuff on the other side of Will and sat down facing the redhead from across the table.

"What the hell do you want?" Will snarled, "Come to pick on the crack whore some more?"

"Will, you aren't a crack whore." Hay Lin said sadly, reaching across to take the redhead's hand only for Will to yank it back away from her.

"Don't feed me the bullshit, I saw you in the office this morning. I bet you saw my file and all your prissy little friends are over there making fun of me right now." Will snarled, "Well guess what princess, I don't need you and I sure the hell don't need them so fuck off."

"Wh-Wh-What?" Hay Lin stammered as Will stood up and grabbed her books, leaving the half eaten tray of food behind.

"I know your type, I've dealt with you more times than I care to count and frankly you disgust me," Will snarled. "So leave me the hell alone unless you want me to smack you down."

Hay Lin watched in utter shock as Will turned from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria. Though Hay Lin was sure she seen tears in those eyes before the red head turned away. Now more than ever Hay Lin was sure the redhead needed someone even if the girl wouldn't admit it. Like a saying Hay Lin once heard, 'No one could be an island to themselves' and she intended to try to help this girl.

WITCH

Will stormed out of the cafeteria, refusing to listen to anymore of that scrawny bitches lies. At first she actually wanted to believe the Chinese girl, but when Will had gotten her lunch and started heading to the table, she heard them talking about her and it had really pissed the redhead off. It was strange though, as she would normally have started a fight over something like that, but it had actually hurt to hear what the blonde said.

Stalking through the halls she tried shoving the thoughts from her mind as she burst out the backdoor and stopped when she noticed a familiar smell. Following her nose she made her way to the equipment shed where she found Uriah, Kurt and Clubber sitting inside smoking. They weren't smoking a normal cigarette though, they were smoking a joint…Marijuana.

"Hhheyyyy, Red." Uriah laughed, hiding a brown colored bottle behind him which also had a distinct smell to it. He was drinking beer and the smell actually made Will's mouth water a little at the thought of drowning her sorrows. "Love the tude girl, maybe if your lucky I'll let you be my girl."

"As if, you Sonic wannabe." Will snarled reaching out to take the joint from the orange haired boy. But he pulled it out of her reach as he took his other hand and pulled her close to the crate he was sitting on, while rubbing her back a little.

"Don't be mean, I know you want it…You need what we got, don't she boys?" Uriah said with a nasty sneer.

"Yeah, we gots anything you could want from joints to coke, even alcohol if you wants." Kurt said, grunting from his position on the floor swirling another bottle.

"We even have crack, we know that you like that and my cousin knew you from your old school." Clubber laughed, as Will felt her eyes start to sting, surely they didn't know the truth, they couldn't.

"Come on babe, Clubber's cousin told us all about you. You're more than willing to anything for this." Uriah laughed as he let go of Will and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sandwich bag with what looked like a few off white chunks of rock or something. "We know you are more than willing to screw our brains out for this."

Will whimpered as her eyes locked on the baggie, her eyes beginning to water as she felt herself weakening. She wanted what was in the bag so much. She needed it after having gone without it for so long, that the withdraw pains had actually started to ease up a bit.

"Come on red, show us if that's your natural hair color." Uriah laughed getting off the crate and pushing Will against the wall and started kissing her, his hands running up her back under her shirt as she closed her eyes tightly, tears starting to fall. Is this all she was now? She had promised herself never again, but after the day she had she wanted anything to take the pain away but was it worth this?

"Stop it." Will whimpered, "I…I don't want it and don't want you."

"Oh, we'll see." Uriah laughed as he started yanking at her shirt trying to pull it up. She tried to push him away, but Kurt and Clubber grabbed one of her arms each pinning them to the wall as Uriah started tugging at her jeans.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Missus Rudolph demanded, walking into the shed causing all three boys to let go of Will and run around the woman as she was unable to stop them.

"I-I'm sorry." Will sobbed, as she saw the baggie next to her after collapsing to her knees and hugged herself tightly. Shakily she reached out to the bag and after several tries managed to pick it up and look at it in disgust. "Oh god, I actually was willing to for a minute…Oh god I can't believe it…"

"It's okay sweetie." Missus Rudolph said softly kneeling down stiffly next to the redhead. "If that stuff is that important to you I won't say anything but please, it isn't good for you…Give it to me."

"I…I need it…" Will sobbed holding the bag to her chest as she hugged herself with her other arm. She knew she should fight it but why should she? She knew she was trash, she had actually come to terms with that a long time ago.

"Do you really, Will?" Missus Rudolph asked, reaching out to take the redhead's hand with the bag and gently pulled the baggie from Will's clenching fist. "It's poison, sweetie, that's all it is."

"It…It's been my only friend…" Will choked, shaking as she fought the pain and temptation that the little off colored rocks was causing. It was true, the drugs and alcohol had been her only friends, but they had been her worse enemies at the same time. "What…What am I supposed to do…How…"

"How do you dull the pain?" Missus Rudolph asked sadly, as she put the bag in her pocket before pulling the redhead in her arms as the girl nodded tentatively. "By letting your friends help you, by letting those who love you be there for you darling."

"That's a joke!" Will cried, "My whole life is a joke that I'm not in on…No one cares about me…Not even…Not even myself."

"I do, sweetie." Missus Rudolph said softly, sadly as she stroked the redhead's hair and kissing the top of said girl's head. "I'll be there for you if you let me."

The lunch bell rang suddenly, startling the two as Will pulled away in surprise, staring at the older woman. Why did she help her, what did the older woman want? No one ever did anything for Will without wanting something in return. Truthfully she no longer wanted to give it after getting off the drugs. True she started before turning to the drugs, it gave her a sense of being loved even though she knew it was empty, but that was why she even started the drugs. She wanted to feel something besides the pain and loneliness and for awhile the alcohol and drugs did that.

"Come on, sweetie, let's get you to the nurses office." Missus Rudolph said softly standing up and offering her hand to the younger girl.

"No…It's bad enough those losers know I don't want the whole school knowing!" Will said after letting the woman help her up. "I won't say anything about them."

"Will, they need to be punished." Missus Rudolph said, shaking her head before understanding why the redhead was so scared. Missus Rudolph knew how cruel kids could be and if they found out about even a fraction of Will's past, then it could drive the teenager back to the drugs she was trying so hard to get over.

"I can't…" Will cried hugging herself, rubbing her arms.

"Okay…I won't mention your name but I have to turn them in. I'll just tell them about the drugs. It'll be enough to get them punished. The school has a zero tolerance policy on drugs." Missus Rudolph sighed afraid that this would backfire, but she wouldn't leave those boys alone after trying to hurt Will.

Missus Rudolph could sense a hurt but very special girl inside Will and as much as anything like what Uriah had tried would normally anger the older woman, what they did to Will extremely pissed her off to the extent of actually considering killing the little bastards. But that wasn't this world's way.

WITCH

After settling down and getting back into the school she was surprised to still see a lot of students still milling around about the halls, but she quickly realized it was from the second lunch. Hurrying to her locker she opened it up and cursed as her favorite pen with frogs on it fell out onto the floor. Kneeling down she grabbed it and went to get back up but hit her head on the corner of her locker door causing her to cry out in pain.

"PIECE OF SHIT!" Will snapped slamming the door shut as she heard several students around her snicker. Turning on them angrily she snapped out, "It's not funny!"

"It is when it happens to trash like you." A blonde girl in a cheerleader's outfit snickered. Will recognized her as the snobby girl that was in one of her earlier classes. She acted like she was better then everyone else and it royally pissed the redhead off just after knowing her for ten seconds. It's what Will hated about that Cornelia girl, these two blondes acted a lot a like.

"You want to repeat that?" Will asked getting in the blonde's face and slamming a fist into the locker next to the girl's frightened face.

"Miss Vandom, that is ENOUGH!" Missus Knickerbocker growled walking up to the two and pulling Will back by the elbow and glared at the blonde.

"Missus Knickerbocker." The blonde laughed nervously.

"Quite, Miss Rockwaller, I heard what you said." Miss Knickerbocker said, "Now I can write you both up which will get you kicked off the squad, since the coach had said this was your last chance. Or I can just give you both warnings this time and you two can go about your business but I don't want anymore trouble."

"Yeah…I'm sorry Will, I shouldn't have said what I did." Bonnie sighed.

"Yeah, whatever…I'm sorry to." Will grumbled out unable to believe she was apologizing this brain-dead ditz.

"Good, now get going." Missus Knickerbocker said but didn't let go of Will's elbow. "Will, the only reason I did that is because I am really trying to help you but if you keep this up I will expel you. This time I am letting you off but I will be calling your mother."

"Oh great." Will sighed as the second bell went off causing the redhead to grumble even more. Missus Knickerbocker let her go and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen and wrote out something on it, before giving it to Will.

"That's an excuse to get you into class but not to mess around. Get your books and get going." Miss Knickerbocker demanded, actually causing Will to hurry up and gather her books from her locker grumbling at the stupid lock, as it was hard to get open. She should never have slammed the door shut like she did.

Literature class was just as boring as she thought, leaving her to think about what had happened to her earlier. She couldn't believe that a couple of punks knew what she had done at her old school. Worse yet, they had tried to get her to do them in exchange for crack, which she hated admitting a part of her wanted. It had actually taken a lot of will power to resist the call of those rocks.

What happened next shocked her, though it shouldn't have as it wouldn't have been the first time she was raped. As much as she hated it, she was also used to it because it was a fact of life, when you dealt with the people she used to.

Sometimes they'd give her some drugs, crack or pot or something and at the time it was worth it to her. It disgusted her so much now though, because it was hard to keep from crying from the taunts many people used. They were true at one time and truthfully, Will believed 'once a crackwhore always a crackwhore'. She was just thankful that she never caught any diseases, as she had been check several times when she was arrested the last time.

"Okay class, I want you to take the next fifteen minutes to write a short poem about how you are feeling." The teacher whose name eluded Will for the moment, but she didn't exactly want to write a poem. Heck, she couldn't even if she wanted to but a nasty idea quickly formed on how to piss him off and get hopefully get expelled at the same time.

True she did want to change but she also didn't want to go here, if she could get expelled she could get a GED and hopefully, get her own life away from everyone who enjoyed hurting her. The only one she'd miss would be her mom, but it wasn't like it would be a big difference from how their relationship was.

Just as she started to write out a dirty limerick she remembered hearing, there was a knock at the door. The teacher went out in the hall for a few minutes, causing a sinking feeling in the redhead's stomach. Finally the teacher came back with a grim expression on his face.

"Will Vandom, take your things and go to the office." The teacher said, shooting her a disgusted glare. Will gathered her books quickly, as she didn't want to be victim to that glare for longer then necessary. But as Will stepped out into the hall she would have preferred it, as she ran into Missus Knickerbocker and a police officer. In fact it just wasn't an officer but her parole officer as well.

"Will, we have some questions about you trying to sell some drugs and seduce a couple students." Tom said, giving Will a stern look.

This couldn't be happening! She was the victim here but then again it was always her fault no matter the circumstance. She was even blamed at her last school when a teacher had forced himself on her.

"What they are saying had better not be true." Missus Knickerbocker said angrily before the two led the redhead down the hallway.

NOTES

This story is loosely fused with Realbuzz Studio's Serenity. Will personality is pretty musch fused with Serenity's and most of her problems is the same Serenity faces as well as several scenes in this story will be from the Serenity series.

I want to thank XV-Dragon for your help on this story as well as betaing it. It you haven't yet I suggest checking out his stories as War for Meridian's Throne as well as WITCH: The Shunned one both kick major ass. So what are you still waiting here for, go to my favorite authors on my profile and check them out, you'll love them!


	2. Chapter 2

Will couldn't believe her luck, which had to be the worst luck anyone had ever had to deal with. Here she actually wanted to be kicked out of school not be sent to juvie or even worse, prison. She already had two big strikes against her and she had no doubt that the book was going to be thrown at her this time. The worse part about it was none of this was her fault though as usual she was blamed for it.

Looking up from her seat in the office lobby, she glared across the room to were Uriah and his loser buddies sat, the brat with a smirk on his face. She knew that there was no getting out of this though, there wasn't anyone to stand up for her as no one cared what happened to her. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she took a deep breath fighting back the tears trying to form.

"Miss Vandom," Tom said coming back out of the office, "Does your mother have another number? She hasn't answered any of our calls."

"No." Will sighed, why were they even pretending to try and get to the truth behind this?

"I guess we will just have to wait until she returns our call then." The portly man said sadly, shaking his head as he adverted his attention to the three boys. "Do you want to tell me what happened again?"

"Yeah, red over there was trying to sell us whatever that stuff was officer." Uriah said with a straight face, obviously trying to look innocent, "She even tried to get us to pay her to sleep with us…It was disgusting."

"I'm sure it was." Tom gruffed as he turned back to Will, "Do you have anything to add to it?"

"They were the ones trying to sell it to me!" Will snapped looking angrily at the unsure face of her parole officer. Sinking back into her seat she sighed as she buried her face back into her knees. "What's the use, you aren't going to believe me."

"I've gotten hold of the boys' parents and they should be here shortly." Missus Knickerbocker said as she came out of the office joining Tom, glaring at all the students present. She had an angry look plastered across her face but as it passed over Will it softened slightly. "How long did your friend say it was going to take to get the fingerprints back from the lab?"

"Well, since we have all parties prints on file it shouldn't take long really." Tom sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Uriah and his goons almost jumped from their seats as the final bell rang signaling the end of the school day, but a glare from both principal and officer cowed them back into their seats.

"There is a zero tolerance policy for drugs here, Miss Vandom." Missus Knickerbocker sighed looking sadly to the redhead, "If it comes back that they belonged to you I guess you will get your wish."

"Gee, thanks." Will grumbled, not even bothering looking up as the door from the hallway opened up and Missus Rudolph came in with a worried look on hr face.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Will." Missus Rudolph said in regret as Will's head snapped up to look at the older woman in shock, "I just found out about what had happened and I'm sorry but under the circumstances…I have to tell."

"Tell what?" Tom asked as the color drained form Uriah and his cronies and their smug looks disappeared.

"I don't know exactly what you have been told about what happened but I can assure you that Will is completely innocent." Missus Rudolph said as a hopeful look spread across Will's face. "I walked in on them trying to sell Will that stuff then…If I didn't show up Uriah would have raped her."

"What?" Tom growled glaring at the boys.

"It's a lie." Uriah chocked out glaring at Missus Rudolph.

"Well now boys, why are your fingerprints all over this stuff?" A woman officer asked as she came into the office, the hall door obviously left open as she heard everything. The woman dumped a small box full of drugs and a few bottles of liquor on the desk. "This was all confiscated from your lockers while Will's didn't have anything in it."

Will looked on in shock at the amount of drugs that was apparently pulled fro the lockers and couldn't help the feelings that flowed through her. She wanted so much to have even a small portion of what was on the desk though she mentally knew she didn't. It all caused more pain that it was worth, had made her do things she wasn't proud of. Yet the siren call of it was so hard to ignore.

"Well boys, looks like all evidence points to you. Do you still want to stick to your story or do you want to help yourselves and come clean?" Tom asked, crossing his arms and glowering at the three boys.

"But this school has never had drug problems like THIS before." Missus Knickerbocker said in disbelief, while staring at all the contraband on the desk. She never knew this much stuff was pulled from the lockers apparently.

"Sometimes stuff like this is so well hidden that its never found out." The female officer said sadly as Missus Rudolph sat down next to Will rubbing the girl's back.

"You okay sweetheart?" Missus Rudolph asked softly.

"Y-You helped me." Will chocked out. She was shocked that anyone had, especially this woman but she was thankful for it

"Of course I did and I will keep doing so kiddo." Missus Rudolph said.

"We want to talk to a lawyer before we say anything else." Uriah grumbled.

"I don't, it's all true." Kurt said, "I ain't going down for you Uriah. I ain't taking no more of your crap."

"I'm with Kurt." Clubber sighed hanging his head.

"Well boys, looks like as soon as your parents get here we will be taking a ride" Tom said before turning to Will with an apologetic look. "Miss Vandom…I'm really sorry…"

"Save it…I know you don't care either way." Will snapped jumping to her feet, "Can I just go now? I've had enough crap for one day?"

"I guess so, I really am sorry." Tom sighed.

"As am I." Missus Knickerbocker said, her voice a little timid as she looked sorrowfully at the redhead.

"Yeah, Yeah…I bet you would have been more than happy to be rid of me." Will grumbled.

"I'll give you a ride home honey." Missus Rudolph said standing up from her seat.

"Thanks…I really mean it Missus Rudolph…No one has ever cared enough to stand up for me before like this." Will said hugging herself, "I need to be alone though…I'll walk."

"If your sue." Missus Rudolph sighed.

"I'm sure." Will said grabbing her bag from the chair that was to the other side of her. "Thanks though, I'll see you later."

"Miss Vandom…Will...I truly am sorry for what happened but I…" Tom said but was cut off before he could say any more.

"Shove it officer Lair, I don't want to hear anymore lies today." Will grumbled as she turned and stormed out of the office to the surprise and shock on most present, except for Missus Rudolph who smiled sadly at the girl. She was sorry for the girl and intended to do everything in her power to help the redhead in anyway possible.

WITCH

She wouldn't cry, Will refused to as she had already cried enough as it was. She was walking home as the events of the last few hours kept running through her head, as she had come close to paying for something that she didn't do. True she was no stranger to that though she admitted; she had done her share of bad things. She wasn't innocent, not in any sense which saddened her. As much as she kept trying to tell herself that she wasn't trash she knew the truth…She knew she was trash.

"Damn them…I don't need them." Will growled under her breath. She didn't want to admit to needing anyone yet again the truth was painfully obvious. She needed someone to save her sorry ass this afternoon not once but twice. And strangely enough she couldn't feel the normal hatred or anger she would feel to someone whop tried to help her. Of course the hatred she felt was because those people never really wanted to help, they just wanted her out of their hair as quickly as possible.

Missus Rudolph was different though, the elder woman never looked at the redhead in contempt or disgust but instead with a sad yet caring look. Did the woman really care for her and want to help? Lord knew the woman was probably the only one who wanted to help her as not even the redhead's own mother really wanted to help. No, everyone else only acted like they cared and wanted to help while this older woman, a stranger, really seemed to care.

A strange smell drew her attention from her thoughts up to a restaurant whose named sounded familiar. It took her a few moments to remember where she heard it from, that was the place where that strange hyper girl had invited her to this afternoon. Why Will actually believed that Hay Lin actually wanted to be friends was beyond her but she found out the truth when she had heard them making fun of her not once but twice. The blonde had to put the Chinese girl up to it though, the smaller girl just didn't really seem like the type to go out of her way to hurt others.

As much as she wished she could go in there and get something to eat she didn't have any money. And she wasn't about to go in there anyways just so she could hear those girls make fun of how poor she was or how she was a piece of trash. She knew what she was, but she didn't need to hear it too. To be constantly reminded of what she had become and how far she had fallen.

Turning away from the imposing building with a tear in her eyes, she hurried down the sidewalk barely missing the four girls entering the restaurant. It didn't take her long to get home though and surprisingly enough, well not really surprising as it was a normal thing, her mother wasn't home. The woman could be at work but she doubted it, this was the third week at her fifth job in six months. Honestly this was the longest the older woman lasted at any job and Will wouldn't be surprised if Susan came home drunk after being fired.

Dropping her bag next to the door as she kicked off her shoes she walked to the kitchen as her stomach grumbled again. She was actually hoping that there might be something she could make, as her stomach was begging for something hot. Her mother was supposed to go shopping this morning after all before going to work, so hopefully she brought home something good. Pulling open the fridge though made her want to cry, the only things that was in there was a half gallon of milk that was almost empty and three new cases of beer. She couldn't believe this, here she was struggling, trying to overcome the grip alcohol had on her and her mother kept bringing it into the house. It wasn't fair, why did she do this to her?

With tears starting to break free she closed the door with a shaking hand as she checked the freezer. It was even more barren than the fridge except for the building ice and frost. The only thing her mother had bought was beer…BEER! Shuddering with a sob she checked the cupboard and found a half box of Fruity Peebles. It was better than nothing she figured as she tried to gain control of her shaking and tears. By the time she had a bowl from the cabinet and had the cereal poured into it she had it under control until she retrieved the milk and opened it up to gag at the smell from it. It smelled as if it had spoiled a long time ago, making her shudder again as she poured it down the sink and left the carton as she decided dry cereal was better than nothing as she went back into the living room.

Falling into the couch she shoved a small handful of the cereal into her mouth and almost spit it back up. It was past stale making her wish that she didn't eat both eggs left this morning and saved one for now. At least she would have had something that wasn't nasty tasting but she doubted her mother would be bringing anything home. Sighing she tossed the box onto the end table actually hoping that maybe Susan for once would do something good for once and bring something home. Pulling off her socks she started to rub her feet a little before jumping a little as the front door opened.

"Where are you?" Susan demanded angrily as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"What got your panties in a knot?" Will snorted, as she slipped into her uncaring, strong persona. She refused to show this woman any weakness, not after the woman proved time and time again she didn't give a damned about the redhead.

"I can't believe this, you already was screwing around with drugs and trying to whore yourself out!" Susan screeched, alcohol on her breath as she glared at the younger girl who waved her hand as if trying to fan the stench of the woman's breath away. "I didn't raise a whore!"

"You sure fooled me!" Will snapped, "And for your information I didn't do anything!"

"BULLSHIT!" Susan growled as she glared hatefully at Will as the girl picked up the box again and threw it at the woman.

"And what happened to you going grocery shopping?" Will demanded heatedly.

"I was going to go after work but if you want to whore yourself out, you can buy your own shit you little slut!" Susan snapped as she wavered a little.

"Go to hell!" Will said stiffly, trying not to cry. As callous as her mother had been she had never said anything like that to her and it hurt. It hurt bad and she wasn't going to stay there any longer and take it right then. Will shoved past the woman and headed to the door wanting so much to ignore her mothers rantings.

"Where the hell do you think your going?" Susan demanded as Will turned to face her as she yanked the door open.

"Out and away from you!" Will snapped as she stormed outside and slammed the door shut before realizing she was still barefoot. She heard a click as the door slammed signaling that the door had locked itself, causing Will to curse at herself. She carefully tried the door only to confirm her suspicions as it being locked but she didn't have her key on her, it was in her bag and she refused to knock on the door.

"Screw this." Will grumbled as she shoved her hands into her pockets before stalking off down the street before shivering a little. She hugged herself, rubbing her upper arms trying to warm herself up as she felt chilled even though it was actually sixty-eight degrees. She didn't really know where to go, though as she refused to go back home at the moment.

It didn't take long before the redhead ended up walking by the same restaurant as earlier, the smell once again assaulting her senses making her mostly empty stomach to growl again. Hay Lin did invite her over and maybe, just maybe she could bum a snack or something off the girl. It would be nice and warm in there as well which was another bonus.

Then again they would only probably tease her and treat her like garbage. Surely they heard of the debacle near the end of school and most likely blamed Will for it. Why shouldn't they, especially that blonde girl who seemed to already have it out for the redhead. Sighing as her stomach grumbled yet again, she walked into the front door only to be stopped by a Chinese woman about the same age as Will's mother.

"Excuse me miss, but you must wear shoes to dine here." The woman said giving Will a disgusted look over.

"Relax dear, she's here to se Hay Lin and her friends." An even older woman said smiling at Will confusing the redhead a little. "Come along, I'll show you where your friends are."

Will followed the elder woman while glancing back to see the woman eyeing her critically. The older woman was confusing Will though as she surely didn't know the redhead but was treating her as if she did and was being really nice.

"Don't pay attention to her, she's had a bad day child." The woman said with a smile over her shoulder, "My name is Yan Lin and you are?"

"Will…Will Vandom." Will said a little unsteadily as the woman stopped and opened the door into another room just as her stomach rumbled again causing the older woman to laugh a little.

"Go on in child and I'll bring you something to eat." Yan Lin said softly.

"I…I don't have any money." Will said hanging her head a little.

"Child, you are my granddaughters friend and all of her friends eat free here." Yan Lin said amusedly, "Go on in child your friends are waiting."

Before Will could protest the elder woman gently pushed her through the door to what looked like a private dinning area, where there were four girls seated at the table inside pouring over what looked like homework while snacking on some cookies. She recognized all of them from being from the school and she wanted to trust them, trust Hay Lin but she couldn't. She didn't have the luxury of trusting someone as they had always turned against her.

"Who invited her?" The blonde, Cornelia asked as she looked up to see the redhead. Will was about to back out of the door when the brunette girl, she believed her name was Irma glared daggers at he blonde.

"I'm so happy you came." Hay Lin cried happily as she bounced out of her chair and started dragging the girl to the table to sit next to the Chinese girl.

"You can't be serious, you have to know what she pulled at school." Cornelia said in disgust while glaring at Will.

"Maybe if you listened to the facts and not the rumors, Corny." Irma snapped at the blonde.

"Don't call me Corny!" Cornelia snapped, "And what would you know about it?"

Will couldn't help staring in shock at these girls. Here this blonde was verbally attacking her and before the redhead had a chance to defend herself Irma had defended her.

"Ignore them Will, they're always like this." The dark skinned girl Taranee said with a small smile as she took Will's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Because my dad told me, Corny!" Irma snapped, "Will had nothing to do with what happened, that creep Uriah attacked her!"

"What?" Will asked in shock as she snapped her gaze up at the two bickering girls.

"My dad's a captain on the police force." Irma said rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "He…He said he was really sorry for what happened and really hoped that you were innocent, but he had to do his job."

Will was about to get up as her eyes were watering, did these girls know her whole past? If this girl's father was who Will was thinking they probably did.

"Please don't go." Hay Lin said grabbing Will's hand pulling her back into her seat, "We really want to get to know you."

"Yeah, right." Will sighed as Yan Lin brought a platter of food in giving each of the girl's a plate filled full of rice, sweet and sour chicken, green beans and two egg rolls as well as a glass of Pepsi leaving a pitcher in the middle of the table with a bowl of fortune cookies.

"Thanks Missus Lin." And "Thanks Grandma." Four voices chorused simultaneously.

"Th-thank you." Will said surprised, this was the most food she had seen in awhile at one time. True she ate at school, she was on the free lunch program but they never really gave her much at her old school and Heatherfield wasn't much better. It was like they gave the students on free lunch much smaller portions than the students who paid.

"Your welcome girls, enjoy your meal." Yan Lin smiled, especially at the redhead before leaving the room.

It didn't take Will long to dig in as her stomach grumbled again embarrassing her but she hid that fact as she concentrated on her food, as the other girls minus Cornelia had small talk for several minutes about the homework and unfairness of it all for their biology classes, as they had the same teacher but at different times. Apparently there was a substitute today and she was left instructions to have the students outline the entire chapter of their text book and answer the questions at the end. Will had to agree that it was unfair though she didn't intend to do it anyways.

"So Will, what was your old school like?" Irma asked around a mouthful of rice earning the girl a slap on the back of the head courtesy of Taranee who frowned slightly.

"Swallow first, sheesh." Taranee grumbled earning a giggle from everyone, surprisingly even Will herself before the question hit home. What was she supposed to do tell them that she hated it. That she knew she messed up herself but one of the biggest scandals and the thing ended up getting her expelled was not her fault. It was that bastard who thought he could take whatever he wanted from her. When it came out though she was the one blamed for it because they knew the way she was and a part of Will had wondered if maybe it was her fault but she knew it wasn't.

"It…It was okay I guess…Nothing spectacular." Will said softly not wanting to talk about it. She finished her food quickly and picked up a fortune cookie opening it and pulling out the fortune as she popped the cookie into her mouth reading around it as she dodged her own smack on the back of her head from the dark skinned girl.

"You will make a new best friend." Will read as she looked up at Irma who winked at her making the redhead blush a little. Did Irma really want to be friends with her? Did the others?

WITCH

Yan Lin could see a good soul in the red-haired girl but she knew of said girl's past. She saw the terrible scandal that took place not far from Heatherfield on the news and while most people ignored it things like that always bothered the older woman. She never believed that the girl was the cause of it, no Yan Lin was sure that the girl was the victim. Strange thing that said girl had showed up basically on her doorstep.

As she entered her bedroom to take a small break she was shocked when her wardrobe was shaking violently with pink light shining through the cracks of the door. It couldn't be, was the redhead the new keeper? Was all five of them the new guardians? The Oracle said that the new guardians would be chosen soon and as proud that she was that Hay Lin was her successor, she was also worried. There was going to be a long road ahead of these five girls, but she would be there to help guide them.

A small smile played across Yan Lin's lips as she thought of something, she was right about the redhead. Will was a good person and this was proof of it. The Heart would have never chosen a bad person to be it's wielder.

NOTES:

I want to give a special thanks to XV-Dragon for all his help betaing this story and helping with it so thankies a lot!

Sorries for the lack of updates lately people but between writers block and some personal issues it had been very difficult. Hopefully this will be getting back on track now and I still have like 30 e-mails I have to answer which I will be over the next few days.

S: Thankies, glad you liked it.

Aesop: Thankies, glad you liked it. I want to try and keep them in character as much as possible though at times it may be a little hard. Hope you keep enjoying this new Will.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the obviously friendly atmosphere, Will was finding it hard to say much as these girls were making her nervous. The blonde one was the worst of them though while the others were making an effort to be nice, Cornelia wasn't. In fact the blonde girl kept glaring at the redhead in undisguised hostility.

"So Will, tell us more about yourself." Hay Lin chirped stopping the conversation that the others were having as three heads turned to look at Will, who was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. What was she supposed to say, she was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic? How about that she really was a whore who did things she wasn't proud of to get her next hit? Sure she was truly trying to change in some ways, but it would never really change the fact of what she was would it?

"Who cares about her?" Cornelia all but growled relieving Will in a way. At least the redhead wouldn't have to say anything about her past now. Or so she hoped. "Has anyone noticed strange things going on around me lately?"

"Oh no, the conversation has drifted away from little Miss Prom Queen, whatever shall we do?" Irma sneered shooting an angry look at the blonde.

"Shove it, Irma." Cornelia said putting her palms on the table and pushing herself up to lean over it getting into the brunette's face.

"Back off, Corny." Irma said pushing herself up to meet the blonde's glare at eye level.

"Don't call me Corny!" Cornelia screeched as she clawed at the table in anger.

"Girls, settle down." Yan Lin said as she walked back in, managing to diffuse the situation as Cornelia sat back down crossing her arms with a 'hmph!" while Irma fell back into her own seat. "I have a story I wish to tell you all."

"But grandma." Hay Lin whined, obviously not liking the older woman's stories or were embarrassed by the. For a moment Will actually wondered what it would be like to have a mother who cared enough to want to meet her friends and tell stories to. What did she care though, right? Her mother was worse than Will herself was and nothing was going to change that.

"This is a special story that I believe will have a special meaning for each of you girls." Yan Lin smiled as she poked at an empty spot in the air, causing it to ripple out around her finger as the room was filled with an image, almost like a hologram. There was a beautiful planet, a beautiful solar system actually that was most definitely not earth's own. "There once was a kingdom called Meridian in another dimension. It was a peaceful kingdom until one day it's Prince murdered his parents and was going to kill his sister, the rightful heir, but two people from the castle hid her away. When he came into power the protectors at the center of Infinity raised a powerful veil to keep it's evil from spreading to other worlds."

"Wh-What the hell is going on?" Will asked, her voice shaky as she watched the planet be covered in strange vines before a purplish haze covered it..

"I'm getting to that child." Yan Lin said smiling kindly at the redhead calming the younger girl down a little. "This veil is growing weak and there are tears beginning to form in it taking on the form of portals. The Council has decided to chose a new generation of protectors to close these tears, to mend them and stop any of the evil from leaking through."

"So what, these warriors," Irma said making quotations with her fingers in the air with a smirk. "Are supposed to sew it shut?"

"No child." Yan Lin laughed sadly as she pulled out a glowing jewel on a chain. "This is the Heart of Candracar girls and with it the Keeper will transform herself and four others into Guardians, strengthening their already showing powers. "Irma, you will control the element of water."

Irma's eye's almost popped out of her head as they flew wide open. For a few moments she wondered how the older woman knew but decided that she did so might as well not hide it. Sighing she pulled a straw out of her soda leaving behind a trail of soda floating behind it.

"Taranee, you will control the element of fire." Yan Lin said bringing a candle over and placing before the dark skinned girl. Taranee sighed and stared at the flame causing it to burst outward violently almost hitting the other girls, only missing by mere inches. "Well…You all will have to practice to gain better control over your powers. My little Hay Lin, you will have power over the very air itself."

With that being said Yan Lin took out a dragon kite giving it to Hay Lin who took a deep breath and blew filling it up and causing it to fly around the room and blowing away the images filling he air.

"And Cornelia, you will have power over the Earth itself and all of its flora." Yan Lin said, setting a flower that was almost dead before the blonde, who waved almost dismissively at it causing it to not only coma back to life but to grow several inches and bloom beautifully. Yan Lin had to smile at that, the flower never looked that good and even Kadma couldn't control her power like that at first.

"And finally, Will." Yan Lin said placing the jewel around the redhead's neck, "You are their leader, the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar."

"You…You have the wrong girl." Will said as tears began to gather in her eyes. How could she be picked to be one of these protectors, these Guardians much less their leader? Didn't Yan Lin know who she was? What she was? "There has to be some kind of mistake…I'm…I'm not even close to being worthy."

Will couldn't stop the tears any longer as she tried to remove the necklace that was mocking her in so many ways. It was supposed to go to someone who could protect people, someone who was important and special and she was none of those things. She was a worthless piece of trash no one wanted around. She knew deep down it was pointless to try and be anything else, though she was sincerely trying if only just to show up her mother. Maybe in some way earn just a little respect from the older woman, a little love from her.

"You are worthy child, the Heart would not have chosen someone who wasn't worthy." Yan Lin said putting her hands on the redhead's shoulders from behind. Irma and Hay Lin closed in on either side of the crying girl hugging her while Taranee looked nervous but worried for the girl. Cornelia looked unsure of what to do, as she looked at Will skeptically.

"Hey, don't say that our new friend isn't worthy of anything." Irma growled out a little angrily, but when Will looked up in fright and a little anger herself she saw a kind friendly look in the brunette's eyes. It took a few seconds before realizing Irma was talking about her, calling Will their friend. They wouldn't be if they knew everything that she did.

When the brunette leaned in and hugged Will, brushing her face against Will's so her lips were just centimeters from the redhead's ear it caused her to shiver a little.

"I know everything in your reports, I sneaked into my dad's records and read them. I'm sorry but it doesn't make me want to go away. I want to be your friend and no the others don't know but it wouldn't change anything." Irma whispered softly, "I won't let you push me away."

"Wh-what?" Will asked unsure to be angry that this girl invaded her privacy like that or hopeful that someone really didn't care about her past and wanted to be friends.

"You heard me missy." Irma said as she pulled away and crossed her arms smirking a little at Will.

"Come on, let's go try out this whole guardian thing." Hay Lin chirped breaking up the moment but attempting to help cheer Will up in her own hyper way.

"Sorry girls, it's getting late." Irma sighed as she looked at the clock up on the wall. "My dad is going to be out front any minute. Come on Will, we'll give you a lift home."

Will was going to protest as Irma grabbed her hand and practically pulled her out of her seat and toward the door.

"We'll see you two tomorrow." Hay Lin said, as Taranee nodded and Cornelia only glared at the redhead though it softened up quite a bit from earlier.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Irma called back as she dragged Will out through the door, the redhead giving up trying to struggle though she really wasn't trying to all that much. Everything in the last hour happened so fast that it was overwhelming her so much and being dragged out front to a police car with a man she wasn't exactly happy with at the moment in the driver's seat.

"Hey dad, can we drop Will off at home?" Irma asked as Will was about to protest.

"What happened to your shoes?" Tom asked as he raised an eyebrow in curiousness.

"Non of your business, I'll just walk." Will huffed crossing her arms.

"Not without shoes you won't, get in." Tom said, but Will was about to smart him off when she found herself being pushed into the back seat with Irma following right behind.

Will sighed as she just scooted over to the window and looked out it, Officer Lair knew where she lived, seeing how he's been there several times already as her parole officer. Riding in the back of a police cruiser was something new for the redhead. Well, riding in the back of one with a friend for not doing anything was anyways. It was a little uncomfortable doing so though as the driver was not only her parole officer, but also the man who had her in Missus Knickerbocker's office earlier. This was totally insane trusting this asshole like this, but Irma really was acting like she anted to be friends and as much as she refused to admit to the world, or even to apart of herself, Will really wanted a friend right now, she needed one after everything she's been through.

"So did you girls have fun?" Tom asked trying to strike up a conversation, as the last two minutes had been pretty quiet.

"It was great dad, and I have a new best friend!" Irma said while smirking over to me.

"B-Best friend?" Will asked as she looked over to the brunette in shock. She knew this girl was a joker, that's what one of the things Will really did like that about her so far. This wasn't something to joke about though, she didn't need to be led on like that. "Please don't joke about something like that. No one gives a damn about me."

"That's not true, Will." Tom said looking back through the rearview mirror at the two girls, as Irma inched over to Will's side as the redhead leaned her head against the window shuddering a little holding back sobs. "There's always God if no one else."

"That's a joke…Hell, my life is the biggest joke of all." Will whispered softly, though both Lairs heard her and shared a sad look through the mirror. Irma finally came hip to hip with Will and took the girl's hand and squeezed it, interlocking her own fingers with the redhead's.

"I know jokes girl, and your life isn't one of them." Irma said after getting Will's attention and locking eyes with her. "I am your friend if you want me to be or not."

Will didn't know what to say when Irma let go and pulled the redhead into an embrace. She knew what to do though, she couldn't drag Irma into her pathetic life. The brunette was far too good for that and didn't deserve that. Will didn't deserve her just like she didn't deserve the Heart, which she had in one hand which she shoved into Irma's purse while she was distracted. Irma would make a much better Keeper than herself.

"We're there." Tom said stopping the car at the curb in front of Will's run down little home. Will pulled away from Irma as she climbed out of the car, giving the brunette a sad smile as she was thinking that this would probably be the last time she saw her. Though it wasn't from the lack of Irma trying, Will was thinking about just giving up, she saw a wonderful world tonight with friends, others who cared about her. It was a world she knew she would never fit in with and she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep living in hers.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Will." Irma said as Will climbed out of the car.

"Sure." Will said smiling a little even though it was strained. She shut the door and walked away from the car dreading a night with her mother even though she wasn't sure if she would even last that long.

"Irma, check your purse and see if anything is missing." Tom sighed as he watched Will walk away even though he didn't pull away. He could see the confused look in his daughter's eyes and hated doing this, but if Will did take something, which he was hoping she didn't, it was better that Irma found out now rather than later.

The young girl sighed as she obeyed her father and opened it up and started digging through it before gasping, crushing Tom's hopes a little for the redhead before Irma pulled out a beautiful piece of what looked like costume jewelry, though it still looked rather extravagant at the same time.

"Hay Lin's grandmother gave this to Will, she must have stuck it in my purse!" Irma said showing the jewel to her father, "I'm going to take it to Will real quick."

"I'll come with you." Tom said as he felt relief flood though him. He could tell that Irma was already rather attached to the redhead, it was the same way with Hay Lin. The two girls had met a long time ago and had been best of friends since, which if he was right, there was going to be another member in that group. Sure Cornelia and Taranee were close to them, but nothing like Hay Lin was to Irma and what he could tell Will would be if the redhead would open up a little.

The two slowed as they approached the door, screaming coming from the other side. Frown's graced both their faces as they realized one of the voices belonged to Will.

"IT JUST KILLS YOU THAT YOU RAISED ME TO BE A PIECE OF SHIT, DOESN'T IT?" Will screamed, "A WHORE JUST LIKE YOU!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, I DON'T GO OUT SCREWING A BUNCH OF GUYS FOR MY NEXT HIT!" The other voice screamed back.

"NO, YOU DO IT FOR THE HELL OF IT!" Will's voice responded, just before the two outside the door heard a loud slap as if a hand slapping someone in the face. Tom had enough as he noticed the shocked look on his daughters face before he pounded his fist on the door.

"WHAT?" A woman with long, dishelved black hair snapped as she flung open the door. The smell of alcohol was evident on her breath as she stood there in a worn, dirty nightshirt. She wavered a little before her eyes widened in recognition. "O-Officer Lair, what are you doing here?"

"I dropped off Will a minute ago but she forgot something in my car." Tom said, his voice clearly a little upset, but the drunken woman didn't seem to notice that.

"H-Hi, Missus Vandom." Irma said as she looked past her to see Will looking at her in shock, a bit of a red mark forming on the redhead's cheek. Irma mouthed the words, "Are you okay?" To Will who nodded sadly.

"What kind of trouble is she in now?" Susan growled out as she glared back at the redhead.

"None…She was just spending time with my daughter tonight." Tom said, confused as to why the woman thought Will was in trouble just because he brought the girl home. After a few seconds he guessed he could understand a little, but the woman's reaction to it was a little harsher than he would have thought. Unless… "Did you get my message today about Will being innocent for what happened at the school?" The shocked and remorseful look on the woman's face told Tom everything, as she stood there slack jawed, trying to formulate a sentence.

"Can I talk to Will for a minute?" Tom asked looking over Susan's shoulder at the redhead.

"Sure." Susan said numbly as she walked away from the door just as Will came to it.

"You forgot this in the car." Irma said taking Will's hand and making the redhead take the jewel.

"Will, I want you to come with us." Tom said gently, "I'm calling children services."

"Wh-What? Why? You can't do that!" Will said as one emotion after another washed over her.

"Will, I can't leave you to be hit again." Tom said shaking his head sadly.

"She never hit me before…I…" Will said as a hurt look crossed into her eye as she gingerly touched the reddening mark. "I was out of line, I should have never said what I did. I refuse to go though and if you call them…I…I'll deny everything! She may not be much but she's all I have!"

"Will…" Tom sighed.

"Don't you dare call them!" Will snapped as she grew angrier.

"We only wan to help Will." Irma said hugging the shaking redhead. Will fought at first but she quickly let the brunette hold her for a few seconds. It kind of felt good to be hugged like this, no one had ever done it for a long time. It felt kind of good knowing that this girl really did care for her.

"Okay, I will be checking up on you but for now…I won't call." Tom said.

"But dad!" Irma gasped.

"Irma…If Will refuses to testify it would be hard to do anything. I don't think Susan would hit Will normally…They both said things to each other that was a little out of line but I still don't like that she hit you Will." Tom said though his voice was a little unsure.

"Look, I'm fine so don't worry." Will sighed, "Just really tired, I'm going to bed."

"Meet at the Silver Dragon tomorrow after school." Irma said, just before Will shut the door.

"I-I'll think about it." Will sighed, "Have a good night you two."

Will sighed as she shut the door, she couldn't believe that those two brought the heart back to her. It didn't make sense to her that they would go out of their way to do that. It didn't make sense that they were actually acting as if they cared about her. True a part of her was starting to believe that they did, but that wouldn't last very long if they did care. When they got to know her personally and see the piece of trash she was, they would abandon her just like everyone else. Even her own mother abandoned her in a way.

"Where did you get that?" Susan demanded pointing to the necklace that Will was just slipping around her neck. "Or should I be asking who you screwed to get it."

"I'm going to bed." Will sighed, fighting back the hurt her mother's words caused as she slipped back into her mask of indifference, though she wasn't sure how much longer it would last. "And for your information, Hay Lin's grandmother gave it to me and if you even think about selling it for booze, I'll break your fucking hand mother!"

"How dare you!" Susan snarled as Will pushed into her room, slamming the door behind her and locking it, before leaning back against it and sliding to the floor to pull her knees to her chest and buried her face in them, as tears started falling. She ignored her mother's raving and ranting from the other side of the door as she shook with quiet sobs. She wanted her mother back, the one she barely remembered but the woman she loved and the woman who loved her in return.

She wondered if maybe it would be best if she just ended it all, her mother would be happier without her that was for sure. Hell, the entire world would be better off without her. No more worthless whore getting in everyone's way. She didn't get too much of a chance to dwell on it though as she drifted off into a fitful sleep, leaned up against the door.

Hi hi peeps (no not those little marshmallow treats, LOL), Wilhelmina here. Sorry about the lack of updates but work has been hard because of the holiday rush but I am going to concentrate on this story as much as I can because if possible I'd like to be over halfway done by Christmas with it so I can have the Christmas chappie in time for Christmas. As soon as Christmas is over though I'll be back full time working on all my stories as well as paying a lot more attention to my website which I may make an archive of all my favorite Witch stories on if their authors don't mind. In fact, I'll be hosting more than that maybe but it will be coming in January.

Also, I am so sorry about the backlog of stories to read, LOL. I know some of you I have been promising to read your stories and I still plan to but mainly I've been sleeping-working and haven't had a lot of time though I do try to make a little time for my friends in my guild and answer my e-mails though sometimes it may take a few days. What work I've done on stories have been during free time at work mostly as I've worked with my friend Ice Queen of Candracar on her two stories From Mystic to Guardian as well as Birds of Prey so check them out and review. (Please, she's starting to worry that they aren't good. TT )

And lastly I want to thank everyone for their support of my stories and your wonderful reviews and a very special thank you to XV-Dragon for betaing this story, thankies, thankies, thankies!


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